Users in Control: A Fresh Perspective on Accessibility

As Mac OS X’s number one massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG), Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft is a fully populated, lushly realized digital fantasy land in which players can explore beautiful scenery, slay beasts, and battle each other in real-time, twenty-four hours a day. Nobody questions the game's merits as far as MMORPGs go; however, other questions remain. For example, is World of Warcraft playable for switch users? Mike Phillips offers the lowdown on what you need to know before adventuring into the realm of Azeroth with SwitchXS.

As Mac OS X’s number one massively multiplayer online roleplaying game (MMORPG), Blizzard Entertainment’s World of Warcraft is a fully populated, lushly realized digital fantasy land in which players can explore beautiful scenery, slay beasts, and battle each other in real-time, twenty-four hours a day. Nobody questions the game's merits as far as MMORPGs go; however, other questions remain. For example, is World of Warcraft playable for switch users? Mike Phillips offers the lowdown on what you need to know before adventuring into the realm of Azeroth with SwitchXS.

Paralyzed from the neck down, Jean-Marc Pepin accesses his Mac with an Origin Instruments HeadMouse, a Sip/Puff switch, and KeyStrokes onscreen keyboard. Shortly after Apple introduced iMovie 2 for OS X, he became interested in video editing as a hobby. Looking for more powerful tools to work with, Jean-Marc quickly gravitated to Final Cut Pro, Apple's professional video editing application. However, why did he think he could edit video when he knew only a little about it, nor how to use Final Cut Pro? Jean-Marc was fascinated by the idea - he knew he could learn and tackled the challenge!

Paralyzed from the neck down, Jean-Marc Pepin accesses his Mac with an Origin Instruments HeadMouse, a Sip/Puff switch, and KeyStrokes onscreen keyboard. Shortly after Apple introduced iMovie 2 for OS X, he became interested in video editing as a hobby. Looking for more powerful tools to work with, Jean-Marc quickly gravitated to Final Cut Pro, Apple's professional video editing application. However, why did he think he could edit video when he knew only a little about it, nor how to use Final Cut Pro? Jean-Marc was fascinated by the idea - he knew he could learn and tackled the challenge!

Being almost entirely paralyzed and unable to speak, the only way for Marie-France Bru to express herself is by typing with SwitchXS switch-access software and a muscular switch attached to her cheek. As she finds writing letter by letter with a scanning system tedious, Marie-France has created a writing method that lets her type three times faster thanks to the panel editor LayoutKitchen and KeyStrokes' abbreviation expansion and word prediction.

Being almost entirely paralyzed and unable to speak, the only way for Marie-France Bru to express herself is by typing with SwitchXS switch-access software and a muscular switch attached to her cheek. As she finds writing letter by letter with a scanning system tedious, Marie-France has created a writing method that lets her type three times faster thanks to the panel editor LayoutKitchen and KeyStrokes' abbreviation expansion and word prediction.

The “usual” way to eject a CD/DVD from a Mac’s optical drive is with the keyboard’s Eject key, but what if that is not an option? You might be able to drag it into the trash, or click the eject marker beside the icon in a Finder window’s sidebar, but what if you are not handy with a mouse or the optical drive is empty? As Ricky Buchanan shows, there are almost as many ways to eject the optical drive as there are innovations from Apple; it’s just that not many people know them...

The “usual” way to eject a CD/DVD from a Mac’s optical drive is with the keyboard’s Eject key, but what if that is not an option? You might be able to drag it into the trash, or click the eject marker beside the icon in a Finder window’s sidebar, but what if you are not handy with a mouse or the optical drive is empty? As Ricky Buchanan shows, there are almost as many ways to eject the optical drive as there are innovations from Apple; it’s just that not many people know them...

For many new switch users, playing games with SwitchXS might seem like a daunting task, however, with a little practice and the right games even a novice can be up and clicking in no time. As Mac gaming expert Mike Phillips illustrates, it's best to start with games that don’t require a great deal of quick action. Fortunately, there are plenty of great titles that provide copious amounts of fun, while offering the means to strengthen one’s switching ability.

For many new switch users, playing games with SwitchXS might seem like a daunting task, however, with a little practice and the right games even a novice can be up and clicking in no time. As Mac gaming expert Mike Phillips illustrates, it's best to start with games that don’t require a great deal of quick action. Fortunately, there are plenty of great titles that provide copious amounts of fun, while offering the means to strengthen one’s switching ability.